founded about a century since b y the king o f Spain, for the re lie f and spiritual comfort o f Catholic captives, and Christian travellers. T his convent, and that at Marocco, were much respected by the Mooselemin, from the essential service afforded b y the monks to the poor, whom they used to supply with medicines g ra tis ; but, after a long practice, they found their prescriptions were grossly abused by the Moors, who took them without any regard to regimen ; they were therefore obliged to make a general medicine for all applicants, composed o f a decoction o f simples with honey, and this they denominated the dua sheriff,, or princely remedy. This convent was deserted by the monks previous to the accession o f Soliman, the present Emperor. T h e streets o f Mequinas are not paved, and on this account it is a v e ry disagreeable place in winter, as the rains cause the mud to accumulate, which renders walking abroad v e ry un p leasant. T h e inhabitants are extremely h osp itable : they invite strangers to their gardens, and entertain them sump tu ou sly : indeed, the manners o f the people in this part o f the empire, are more mild, perhaps, than in any other. Nature seems to have favoured the women o f Mequinas, for th e y are handsome without exception, and to a fair complexion, with expressive black eyes, and dark hair, they unite a suavity o f manners rarely to be met with even in the most polished nations o f Europe. F A S . T h is c ity (which is div ided into old and new, called Fas jedid e, and Fas E l Balee) is the most celebrated in West Barbary; it was founded about the I85th yea r o f the Hejira (A . C. 786) by Idris,* a descendant o f , Mohammed. It stands for the most part upon gentle hills, except the centre, which is low, and in winter v e ry wet and dirty. It is not so extensive as Marocco, but the houses being more lo fty and spacious, it contains more inhabitants. T h e houses have flat roofs ingeniously worked in wood, and covered with terrace, on which the inhabitants spread carpets in summer, to recline upon, and enjo y the cool breezes o f the evenin g; a small turret, containing a room or two, is also erected upon them for the use o f the females o f the family, who resort thither for amusement and pastime. In the centre o f each house is an open quadrangle surrounded b y a ga llery , which communicates with the staircase, and into which the doors of the different apaitments o p eu , these doors are both wide and lofty, and are made o f curiously carved wood painted in various colours. T h e beams o f the roofs o f the different apartments are whimsically painted with gay colours in the arabesque style. T h e portals o f the houses are supported with pillars o f b rick plaistered over. T h e principal houses have (Mitferes) cisterns under them, containing water used in the baths, which are built of-marble or stone. E ve ry house is also supplied with water from a river which rises in the A tla s, and enters the town in various places b y covered channels. T h e hospitals, colleges, and houses o f the great and wealthy have, witliinside, spacious courts, adorned with sumptuous galleries, fountains, basons of fine marble, and * This prince fled from Medina in Arabia, to avoid the persecution of the Khalif Abd Allah, and retiring into Africa, penetrated to the west of the Atlas, where, being struck with the beauty of the adjoining plains, he founded the city of Fas, having previously propagated the religion of the Arabian prophet at the place now called the Sanctuary of Muley Dris Zerone, in the Allas mountains, west of the city of Mequinas.
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